The Liberty Championhttps://www.liberty.edu/champion
Student-Run, Student-Written, Student-ProducedTue, 03 Mar 2015 16:20:50 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1SELS eventhttps://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/09/sels-event/
https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/09/sels-event/#commentsFri, 20 Sep 2013 20:18:46 +0000http://www.liberty.edu/champion/?p=22762Continue reading]]>Laughter and students’ applause filled the auditorium during Johnny Franck’s performance in Towns-Alumni Lecture Hall Sept. 13. Hosted by the School of Law’s Sports and Entertainment Law Society (SELS) the event featured Franck, a former member of Attack Attack!, an electronica band from Ohio.

Franck visited Liberty University to share songs, his testimony and legal advice to more than 60 students in attendance according to Josh Dawson, an SELS vice president. Drew Williams and Luke Freeman from a Columbus, Ohio, band Deadwood Floats joined Franck on stage.

Franck sang a few original songs, along with several covers and songs from Deadwood Floats before sharing his testimony.

According to Franck, his career in music began when he received a guitar in sixth grade. He accepted Christ in seventh grade, but after joining Attack Attack! his sophomore year of high school, his career began to take priority over Christ in his life.

Several recording labels offered Attack Attack! opportunities to sign with them during Franck’s junior year of high school and then began touring. According to Franck, he was living his dream.

“(As) our band continued to grow more, my relationship with God continued to decline,” Franck said. “And during our second year of touring it was nonexistent. I was kind of angry at God and said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to hear what you have to say.’”

During the peak of Attack Attack!’s success, Franck said he was miserable, and he often turned to the world for temporary satisfaction.

During the band’s second year of fame, Franck realized something had to change.

“I remember being in a bus full of my best friends and feeling all alone,” Franck said.

Franck left the band to pursue God, and according to Franck, God ran to him when he made Christ his new priority.

“When I gave my life to God … began a life of deep satisfaction, and I gained that fulfillment that I was trying to find in music,” Franck said.

Currently, Franck owns a recording studio, Johnny Franck Studios, where he has worked with more than 70 bands. Franck also runs two Bible studies, one from his home and another high school group. Franck is also involved with his two-member band, The March Ahead, as a side project.

“It’s hard, and it’s tiring, but man I am really glad that I am tired doing a lot of things that I want to do,” Franck said.

Franck also touched on some of the legal issues that were involved with leaving Attack Attack! before allowing students to ask him questions.

Franck talked to students at the end of the night and gave them the chance to ask questions. An hour after his performance ended, students continued to talk with Franck, who opened his heart to the students.

“I think it went pretty well, and there was a pretty good turnout,” Dawson said.

One student in attendance, sophomore Brooke Mangee, has been a fan of Franck for more than five years.

“Even if you think you’re having fun and doing what you want, if you’re not one with God, it’s not really amounting to much,” Mangee said.

]]>https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/09/sels-event/feed/0SELS Clubhttps://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/08/sels-club/
https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/08/sels-club/#commentsWed, 28 Aug 2013 18:45:50 +0000http://www.liberty.edu/champion/?p=22177Continue reading]]>The newly founded Law School’s Sports and Entertainment Law Society (SELS) hosted its first open house on Friday, Aug. 16. The club, founded by Paige Wells along with current student and vice president of SELS John Maghamez, has 20 founding members.

“Our mission … is to get a better understanding of what are the legal issues in the entertainment industry and music, movies and sports industry and, as Christians, how we can interact with that and how we can make a difference in those industries through our legal knowledge,” Josh Dawson, the club’s second vice president, said.

Through SELS, students will gain many opportunities to apply the knowledge they are gaining in the classroom.

“I am working very hard to grow the law school in a positive direction and give the students, including myself, the greatest opportunity to serve the Lord during law school and after graduation,” Dawson said.

The first SELS-hosted event will be a concert Sept. 13, featuring Johnny Franck, the former lead guitarist of Attack Attack!, which is an electronica band that incorporates metal and rock elements into its songs. Franck left Attack Attack! on Nov. 10, 2010.

“I put the band above God, and that’s something that was really damaging to me,” Franck said during his farewell video to fans posted on prp.com. “So, I’m stepping down to refocus my life on God and work on strengthening my relationship with him.”

Franck’s music conveys a Christian message and, according to Dawson, Franck will also speak to students about the legal and business consequences related to leaving Attack Attack!. He will also address the difficulties in producing music without a major record label backing.

In addition to producing his own music, Franck also produces the music of Christian rock bands.

“It’s going to be a fun night, and hopefully some people will get something from his testimony too,” Dawson said. “I think that’s the most important part of it.”

The concert is $5 for students with a valid Flames Pass and $10 for others. Funds raised by the event will directly benefit SELS and help them purchase a legal journal. SELS members will later contribute to and help produce the journal. Dawson also hopes to use a portion of the club’s funds to send members to negotiation tournaments.

The concert will be held Sept. 13 in Towns Auditorium at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.